FEATURES

The new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (39) is the youngest Italy has ever had and he is the first to lead a government, being a Mayor instead of a member of Parliament. But these are not the only novelties, for the first time half of the ministers in his cabinet are women, and the age average (47) is remarkably young for Italy. Roberta Pinotti is Italy’s first female defence minister, and Federica Mogherini is the youngest foreign minister since 1936.

The 64th edition of the Sanremo festival, divided into five evenings and broadcasted live on “Rai Uno” from the Ariston Theatre in Sanremo, from the 18th to the 22nd of February 2014, has now proclaimed its winners.
For the “big” section (artists already known to the public) the winner is Arisa with the song “Controvento”. The second place went to Raphael Gualazzi & The Bloody Beetroots and the third to Renzo Rubino. The prize of the critic called “prize Mia Martini” went to Cristiano De André for the song “Invisibili”. Rocco Hunt, with “Nu juorno Buono” is the winner of the New Proposals section. The rapper from Salerno beat in the sprint Diodato with “Babylon” , The Niro with “1969” and Zibba with “Without You”.

Carnival 2014 begins on Sunday the 2nd of March. “Martedì Grasso” will be on the 4th, while the Carnival will end on the 8th of March. During this enjoyable time there will be lots of public carnival events all through Italy, and quite often there is a small prize given for the best costume. Many families organize small parties in their homes for their children and their friends. Also for grownups there are parties in clubs or at home where the usual Carnival food is represented by “Frappe” and “castagnole”.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK organized “Vinoteca 2014” an exclusive event, dedicated to the promotion of Italian wines in the UK. The appointment for importers, distributors, buyers, agents and sommeliers is at the Ironmongers’ Hall, Shaftesbury Pl, London EC2Y 8AA on Thursday 27th February 2014 from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

The antivirus company Symantec has commissioned a poll to find out how Italians are going to say “I love you” this year at St. Valentine’s day. 42% declared they exchange love wishes with their partner while 15% hate the festivity and don’t celebrate it.
32% are going to exchange love sms and 20% will make a phone call. On an average, women prefer to write messages while men prefer speaking. Women use also cards, letters and emails. Social Networks are becoming increasingly popular with the majority using Facebook, and a minority using Twitter.

The Italian Government plans to send the army to stop the dumping of toxic waste between Naples and Caserta by Campania’s local criminal organization, the “Camorra”.
The area where the Camorra used to set fire to the toxic waste has been nicknamed the “Land of Fires”. The soldiers will act on the border between Naples and Caserta as law enforcement officers. The contingent is set at a maximum of 850 units, plus four helicopters, at least until the end of 2014 but it might be extended for a further six months.

Arnoldo Foà, great protagonist of the Italian culture of the 20th Century died in Rome at 97 years of age. Foà was a multitalented man who worked as an actor for the theatre, cinema and television, but also as a film director, a sculptor a painter and a poet. During his very long and prestigious career he collaborated with Orson Welles, “Toto” and Strehler.

Choosing the right school for your children might be very difficult. There are many aspects to be taken into account, for example which institutions are better equipped from a technological point of view or where there is a better relationship between the number of teachers and students.
Now, “Italian Schools Navigator” can help you analyse the Italian school system, from kindergarten to the secondary level.

The biggest Christmas tree in the world is a giant installation on Mount Ingino overlooking the city of Gubbio. The installation entered 22 years ago in the Guinness book of records. The tree is 450 meters long, 950 metres high and has more than 1.040 neon lamps connected to more than 19 kilometres of electric cables. There are 1.350 outlets and plugs to light 850 bulbs on the tree, and 190 on the comet which has an extent of one thousand square meters, and changes colour every 5 minutes.

Environmental disasters are becoming increasingly frequent.
In the last few years we have become acquainted to tragic news regarding environmental disasters in Italy. According to the experts this might be due to climate changes caused by global warming and a disastrous building policy in the country.
On the 18th of November Sardinia was hit by Cyclone Cleopatra and heavy rain, which caused a severe flood as rivers burst their banks, causing death and destruction in the surrounding areas. The flooding was caused by a deep area of low pressure that had been hovering over the Mediterranean, causing sustained heavy rain.